2010 Red Burgundy

Learn more about 2010 Red Burgundy

Red Wines The red Burgundy wines are built around a triangle of fruit, tannins and acidity this year, whereas some Burgundian vintages lean more towards the tannic or the acidic. These are beautifully balanced wines in 2010, very classical, with much more red fruit than black, notably cherries and raspberries, and very few green notes.

They range from lighter to medium-full bodied depending on the extraction choices made by the producer. The major villages of the Côte de Beaune have fared as well as the Côte de Nuits. No other vintage is directly comparable but the purity and fresh finish of 2002 plus the density (and alas scarcity) of 1991 come to mind. There is huge pleasure in store for the Burgundy lover.

Overview There was no hype for 2010 Burgundy at the time of the vintage (unlike Bordeaux) but the wines which have just been bottled, or soon will be, have turned out to be something special. The reasons for this emerge in the next paragraphs.

The tricky bit this year is that yields are way down, typically by 30% to 50%. Despite this, the majority of producers have maintained their 2009 prices with only those who want to reposition looking for a significant increase.

Weather The first date of crucial importance was 19th December 2009, just as delegates were leaving the Copenhagen Climate Change conference, when temperatures plunged to record lows in a very short space of time. The Côte de Nuits was the worst affected, especially in those low lying vineyards where cold air can be trapped on humid soils and large patches failed to burst into leaf when spring eventually came.

This winter freeze may well have reduced the crop for the great majority of vines which did survive, while a latish flowering in poor weather certainly did so. Everybody reported widespread millerandage, when bunches produce a large proportion of much smaller berries. Clearly the harvest would be short, and this was crucial because the subsequent poor summer could never have ripened a 2009 sized crop, while the small berries with a high skin to juice ratio could produce concentrated wines.

The first half of July was exceptionally hot and dry, but the weather weakened in the second half of the month and August never really happened. The good news was that there was relatively little evidence of oidium, mildew or rot – but clearly the weather needed to cheer up significantly in September. However there was one more nasty surprise to come.

A massive thunder storm took place on Sunday 12th September and included hail which ravaged the Santenay and Chassagne-Montrachet border. The electricity in the air also had an effect on nearly ripe white grapes, turning them brown or even blue overnight. Then Burgundy’s old friend, the north wind, came to the rescue and dried out the vineyards, preventing rot from galloping through the vineyards. The red grapes, unless specifically damaged by the hail, did not otherwise suffer. At harvest time, the producers felt happy to have escaped disaster.

They did not expect anything remarkable from the vintage and indeed the start of the vinification process was not especially auspicious, with the grapes reluctant to hand over their colour and fruit. But by the time the new wine was ready to be decanted out of the vats into barrels, producers were sounding a lot more confident.

Some had chosen to go with the style of the vintage and keep extraction to the minimum; others wished to compensate for the reluctance of the fruit to emerge initially, and had gone for a longer than usual vinification. Many fewer stems were used in 2010 than the previous year.

Jasper Morris MW, BBR Buyer

Jasper divides his time between England and Burgundy. His unique position led him to write the ultimate guide to the vineyards of the region, Inside Burgundy. Described as “the greatest reference work of our generation” by Bill Nanson (www.burgundyreport. com), and “an essential book for anyone remotely interested in the region and its wines” by Neal Martin (www.erobertparker.com), this outstandingly detailed book, in 656 pages, covers one thousand specific vineyards, from Grands Crus to obscure plots.

Heady, dark and succulent fruit present themselves on the nose of the wine, which is both full and satisfying, with a second wave of fruit roaring across the palate at the back. Succulent and ripe, but still very fresh, the grapes for this wine were clearly picked at optimum ripeness.Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

We have decided to combine here the wines that fall under the domaine label and those produced officially as négociant wines and labelled as Patrice Rion. Most of these cuvées are from vines managed by Patrice who has one contract to farm the vineyards and another to buy the grapes. The exceptions are the village Chambolle-Musigny and Nuits-St Georges Vieilles Vignes where Patrice is not involved in the farming.

Patrice and son Maxime are tweaking their techniques a little by reducing new oak and slightly increasing extraction in the pre-fermentation stage. These are impressive results – the Nuits-St Georges continues the consistently fine streak of recent years while this is certainly the finest range of Chambolle-Musigny that they have ever produced. 2010 reminds Patrice a little of 1978 and 1991, two vintages with small yields, full ripeness and notable concentration.

Located just below Bonnes Mares, Baudes always shares some of the structure that is found at the Morey side of Champbolle. Serafin's Baudes captures the finesse and perfume of chambolle lightly framed by oak, but with the concentration and muscle of Bonnes Mares and the freshness of 2010. Cellar for at least a decade.

Offering a medium density with a bright purple colour this wine shows soft and graceful fruit on the nose which then kicks on to deliver more an more behind. There is plenty of stuffing here and the requisite amount of tannin too.Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Several years down the road since they switched to biodynamic farming, the Rossignol brothers are looking at ways to fine-tune the finished product with a few tweaks in their cellar work. They have been careful to aerate their excellent 2010s throughout the vinification process to avoid any problems of reduction and to soften the end palate of the wines. Some stems were used again this year, albeit less than in 2009.

Bursting with perfumed raspberry fruit and violets on the nose, this wine is middleweight on the palate before reaching a rump of tannins, and a finale of sweet ripe fruit that returns to strike at the end.Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Domaine de Montille picked between the 18th and 26th September in 2010. The red wines, made by American Brian Sieve (one of two winemakers in this catalogue born in Indianapolis!) under the surveillance of Etienne de Montille, now show a consistency of style and quality that perhaps was not entirely there a few years ago. The whites are the responsibility of Etiennes sister Alix and maintain the class of recent times. Together they have produced a fine result in 2010.

Fine medium purple, dancing elegance to the fruit, a red fruited zest. Some oak at the minute, a little youthful bitterness which is no bad thing. A few black fruit notes, but very graceful Chambolle Musigny wine withal. All will come together soon.(Jasper Morris MW, BBR Buyer)

Much more backward than the Amoureuses. This has an intense purple colour, very dense if currently unyielding fruit on the nose, and an impressively powerful palate, concentrated, tightly knit and backward. A great wine in the making.Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

We have decided to combine here the wines that fall under the domaine label and those produced officially as négociant wines and labelled as Patrice Rion. Most of these cuvées are from vines managed by Patrice who has one contract to farm the vineyards and another to buy the grapes. The exceptions are the village Chambolle-Musigny and Nuits-St Georges Vieilles Vignes where Patrice is not involved in the farming.

Patrice and son Maxime are tweaking their techniques a little by reducing new oak and slightly increasing extraction in the pre-fermentation stage. These are impressive results – the Nuits-St Georges continues the consistently fine streak of recent years while this is certainly the finest range of Chambolle-Musigny that they have ever produced. 2010 reminds Patrice a little of 1978 and 1991, two vintages with small yields, full ripeness and notable concentration.

2010 is the first vintage to be made in the new cuvérie at this domaine, but it will be the last that is vinified by Sylvain Cathiard himself, he is handing over responsibility to his son Sébastien in 2011. The harvest began on 25th September with volumes just a little down compared to previous years, but as ever, Sylvain and his son have produced a most seductive range of wines.

There is a delicious raspberry fragrance to the nose, which is backed up by a delicious aftertaste. The wine starts quietly but the fruit builds steadily to the back of the palate, finishing on a substantial mouthful of mineral infused crunchy red fruit.Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

2010 has produced miniscule yields for David Clark, no more than 20 hl/ha, the most courageous Scotsman in Morey St-Denis. The wines are superb though, with very gentle extraction, no stems this year and of course, Davids meticulous attention to detail at his micro estate. This will be the last vintage for his Bourgogne Passetoutgrains, David having recently sold the vineyard.

With finesse and bounce on the nose, there is lovely energy to this wine with really stylish fruit including red berries and something a little darker. Suave, sensual and intense, it is beautifully combined.Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

2010 is the first vintage to be made in the new cuvrie at this domaine, but it will be the last that is vinified by Sylvain Cathiard himself, he is handing over responsibility to his son Sbastien in 2011. The harvest began on 25th September with volumes just a little down compared to previous years, but as ever, Sylvain and his son have produced a most seductive range of wines.

Mature vines from the mid 1950s are used here and have created a fine, glowing purple wine with lovely, juicy energy and a little whiff of oak among the fruit and violets. There is good weight to the fruit, with floral notes continuing all the way through to the back of the palate. Decidedly elegant, this is serious, powerful wine.Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

2010 is the first vintage to be made in the new cuvrie at this domaine, but it will be the last that is vinified by Sylvain Cathiard himself, he is handing over responsibility to his son Sbastien in 2011. The harvest began on 25th September with volumes just a little down compared to previous years, but as ever, Sylvain and his son have produced a most seductive range of wines.

This wine is so densely concentrated that you can almost feel how small the berries were in 2010. Very solid, showing predominantly black fruit and a little touch of spice, this is completed by fine ripe tannins that provide the structure.Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

2010 is the first vintage to be made in the new cuvérie at this domaine, but it will be the last that is vinified by Sylvain Cathiard himself, he is handing over responsibility to his son Sébastien in 2011. The harvest began on 25th September with volumes just a little down compared to previous years, but as ever, Sylvain and his son have produced a most seductive range of wines.

This wine has amazing persistence and is made from the oldest vines of the domaine, some dating back to 1902. The nose begins discreetly, but you sense a magical richness of flavour lurking behind and this is a brilliant example of Charmes-Chambertin, showing amazing density of fruit leading to a sprightly, refreshing finish. Drink 2015-2025.Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director

Two recent trends which have been continued here by winemaker Pierre Vincent are a slight reduction in the amount of new oak, which now mostly comes from the local forest of Cîteaux, and a slight increase in the use of stems during vinification. The latter is subtly judged though, as there is very rarely any outright feel of the stems in the bouquet or on the palate. 2010 is a tiny crop here, averaging out at 24 hl/ha across the cellar but the wines are magically concentrated.

Shining a lovely purple colour this wine evidently must come from a first rate source. There is scintillating fruit on the nose, which is just on the border between red and black, with raspberries and dark cherry notes shining through on the palate which is lively, fresh, silky and long.Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

The old order changeth slowly at Maison Louis Jadot. Veteran winemaker Jacques Lardire is still very much in charge, but his eventual successor Frdric is starting to play a more prominent role. Dont expect a revolution, but a little evolution is doubtless possible. The acidity of 2010 very much suits the Jadot white wine style, while their fullish extraction of Pinot Noir has worked notably well in several red cuves such as the Volnay, Clos de la Barre which we have selected for the first time this year. Where the wines come from one of the various Jadot domaines we supply the relevant information in brackets.

We have exclusive access to this Gevrey-Chambertin and it is a brilliant mid purple colour with a really stylish nose. Good density on the palate is followed by a finale that has perfect balance between fruit, acidity and tannin. Brilliant texture is in evidence once again.Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director

Maison Roche de Bellene Production has recently moved to a new facility on the outskirts of Beaune, which is making life much easier for the Roche de Bellene team. The philosophy stays the same: work with excellent grape sources and get the wines out into the market at competitive prices. The reds have had an excellent following for many a year now, while recently the whites have shown the same impressive price to quality ratio that makes this such a good address.